The 2018 guide to smart beta

Traditional active and index funds can help investors achieve their financial goals, but they don’t have to be the only solution. Smart beta strategies can work with traditional portfolio building blocks. In fact, a wide range of investors are catching on to smart beta’s potential.

Find out ways that smart beta strategies can be used alongside current portfolio holdings.

The guide features five client case studies that:

1.

Customize portfolios to a range of risk tolerances

2.

Replace underperforming style box managers

3.

Complement active equity funds with minimum volatility

4.

Pair fixed income smart beta strategies with active managers

5.

Seek lower cost sources of excess returns

The guide also outlines what smart beta investing is and how investors can conduct due diligence to choose the right smart beta strategies for them.

Smart beta is the next generation of factor investing

BlackRock is a pioneer in factor investing, launching the first factor fund in 1971 and driving innovation in the category for more than 40 years. BlackRock’s iShares smart beta ETFs use the firm’s sophisticated analytics and trading capabilities to seek better outcomes for clients. BlackRock expects assets in smart beta ETFs to reach $1 trillion globally by 2020.

Join the investors who have learned about the potential of smart beta, the next generation of factor investing.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses, which may be obtained by visiting the iShares Fund and BlackRock Fund prospectus pages. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

The iShares Minimum Volatility Funds may experience more than minimum volatility as there is no guarantee that the underlying index's strategy of seeking to lower volatility will be successful.

There can be no assurance that performance will be enhanced or risk will be reduced for funds that seek to provide exposure to certain quantitative investment characteristics ("factors"). Exposure to such investment factors may detract from performance in some market environments, perhaps for extended periods. In such circumstances, a fund may seek to maintain exposure to the targeted investment factors and not adjust to target different factors, which could result in losses.

The strategies discussed are strictly for illustrative and educational purposes and are not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. There is no guarantee that any strategies discussed will be effective.

The Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, "BlackRock").